Bookalicious

I discovered Kelley Armstrong about two years ago. I picked up a copy of a book from her “Women of the Otherworld” series and really enjoyed it. So when I heard Kelley was working on a new trilogy well I had to pick up “The Summoning”. This book was quite a lot different from what I have previously read from Armstrong. It was meant more for a teen audience, when I am used to reading her adult series. It was a bit over simplified even for a teen plot. The book took a while to get going, the main character was a bit too self conscious and not confident to the point you got annoyed and if Chloe Saunders was in front of you, you would probably slap her and scream at her to stop being such a baby. The character whines a lot for a character who is constantly showing how tough, and out of the box thinking she is supposed to be.

The plot was super slow through two thirds of the book and it gave me the feeling the ending was rushed, the plot unties itself in the last small bit of the book and I felt it moved too fast after the first part of the book dragged on so slowly. I felt the book ended in a weird way. Like ending in the middle of a chapter, not ending a story. I understand the first book of a trilogy needs to end open, but this was like WAY OUT IN LEFT FIELD open. Like middle of a conversation open. I was really disappointed in the ending. When something ends like that, I really don’t want to read the second book, its apparently really not worth my time if it is going to upset me and if I don’t like the writing style.

All that being said, the book does have three stars for a reason. The book flowed together well. Armstrong understands the supernatural world like no one else. When she fits several genres of supernatural together it doesn’t ever feel meshed or complicated. It just fits. The Lyle House where the supernaturals are being held on the pretense of mental illness was described well. You feel like you are also inside the walls of the house while you are reading.

If you are a fan of Armstrong or really like teen supernatural books, like Meyers or Bray have written then I suggest you pick up a copy of The Summoning. You may really like the character of Chloe and her friends. I did think the supporting characters of the book were awesome. Simon and his foster brother Derek are especially well developed and also are supernaturals. So yeah go ahead and read it. I am hoping on my personal feelings of Armstrong’s previous works that the second book coming soon is going to tie all this together for me and not end in such an open way. I think the Darkest Powers series is worth a chance.